Olsson, Albin

Abstract [en]

This thesis aims to examine how public librarians talk about users in the context of self-service libraries in the library press, that means papers whose main group is librarians or people working in some kind of library oriented operations. The strategies has mainly been based on Foucaults theories based on monitoring and power and been investigated through a discourse analysis.

The results showed that the user is mentioned in some different situations, often when talking about the library’s mission and services but also when speaking about security and monitoring. The discourses that has been identified have focused on the library as a place for all types of activities or a more market economy view of the library. A more security-oriented discourse could also be identified in the analysis.

The conclusion is that users often are mentioned by librarians when speaking about the library as a place and the service provided by the library. Also when talking about security the users are mentioned. Users are often mentioned when talking about something positive or negative. The user is seen as both a possibility and a threat. Mainly the user is winning the trust from the librarians, but they need guidance and support from them. This view of self-service libraries raises the question of who will monitor the users when the librarian is not in place.